Tuesday, November 06, 2007

This isn't the post I intended for today....

Ever since vacation, Audrey has been having a rough time. Bedtime isn't going as smoothly as it was before, and Ray said the dropoffs at school have been going bad as well.

And that continued for me this week. With Ray gone, I have been obviously doing the dropoffs, and this morning, I pretty much had to drag Audrey to her room. She normally goes into her old room to say hi to her old teacher, but that teacher wasn't there this morning. So I take her crying into her room. Luckily, her teachers are great and take her from me and by the time I leave and wait about 30 seconds, she has stopped crying. But still. I feel like mother of the year. That and there were two other mothers in Audrey's room sitting on the floor with their kids, while Audrey's teacher came and took Audrey. I felt like I should have stayed, but honestly, that just would have made it worse. And maybe those mothers staying is the routine they have every morning, I don't know.

And prior to that, I had to drag Ashley out of the van. She wanted to get out on Audrey's side, but that would have required her to step over some stuff, and I had already shut Audrey's door. She didn't want to get out on her side as the parking space next to us was empty and a car could pull in any second. The mind of a four year old....

So after dropping the girls off, I get on the road. My tire is making a weird ticking noise (you see where this is going, don't you...), but I checked it, and it seemed fine. I stop and get Starbucks (I am already late for work, why not be more late) and then get on the highway. As soon as I get up to 65 mph, my tire makes a funny noise and bam, it's flat. On the beltline with three lanes of traffic. I make it over to the left side of the highway and pull off.

And then I become a wuss - I cry. Pathetic, I know. But I had no idea what to do. Ray is miles away, and everyone else is at work. We don't have AAA or anything like that. I call Ray who is still in Phoenix. He tells me to call *47 for Highway Patrol. I call them and tell them my location (I had no idea if I was going east or west, I think the guy thought I was a complete idiot) and as soon as I get off the phone, a state trooper pulls over with me. He makes sure I am okay and tells me an IMAPP truck (motor assistance) was on the way and to stay in my car.

And the truck showed up 5 minutes later. I love living here. People are so nice. The guy helps me out (although he didn't believe me at first on where my spare was...) and I was on my way. I am driving on a donut, but at least Ray is coming home hopefully tonight (he is flying standby today, otherwise he is taking the red eye tonight and will get home in the morning as planned).

oh honey! what a bad start to the day. who wouldn't have cried after all that???? I probably would have been crying before the flat tire.

and don't beat yourself up about the school thing. You and the teachers (and the other mom's, too) know that it is best for some children to just make a clean break in the morning. as is obviously the case with audrey since she was over it in 30 seconds. you are an amazing mom!!! don't ever think otherwise!

Well shoot, you have had a rough day haven't you! If it's any consulation, today I basically had to shove Abby in her classroom and pull the door shut/hold it until her teacher got her. it's a holiday here and she dind't want to be at daycare all day and was hanging on my leg. Fun times. And really responsible for a 6 year told to act like a 2 year old.

what a yucky start to your day:( I hope that things are going a little better now!! Also don't worry about Audrey's school situation! I watch a 2 year old who will do that for a week then stop for a month then start back up again! I am sure she is hoping that one of these times her Mom will take her:) LOL!! They are smart little boogers!!

Yuckola!!! And Honda has an awesome road side assistance, that I believe you can buy if you own a Honda vehicle. My husband got it for me so I wouldn't have to worry about that exact thing.

One time that happened to me and I pathetically got out of the car and opened my trunk, dragged the stroller out like if I actually got to the spare I'd know what to do with it, when a very nice trucker in an Iron Maiden T-Shirt stopped and changed my tire. Middle of the winter and I stupidly didn't even have a coat with me.

May I just say that I was just commenting to someone else (chick) about how great you seem. I almost said that you appear to have it entirely together... LOL... and seriously, it's NOT good to know, but it's certainly settling to know that you encounter the same trials and tribulations that the rest of us do. Because girl, you always seem so pulled together.

My heart goes out to you and I hope your day goes remarkably better and your kiddos pull out of vacation mode as well. Yay to Ray coming home.

I wanted to cry just reading your post! My hubby is away too and I am always worried something like that would happen to me. I totally think you did the right thing leaving Audrey in her room. It is probably just her way of getting back on schedule, honestly did you want to go back to work after vacation??!! Things will settle down soon and I'm glad that Ray will be back home soon. Hope you have a better day!!

Wow, what a bad week you're having! You know, I experienced it again today...when I drop the kids off it's so much worse than when hubby drops them off. Maybe once Ray gets back and the routine is back Audrey will forget that she was having bad drop-offs with Ray before, and go back to the way they were when it was good?

That's so nice that you got your tire fixed and fixed fast...at least you had your Starbucks while you waited :)

First of all, you are a good mother! Just because you leave your child while she is crying doesn't mean you are a bad Mom. I used to do it all the time with Keven Jr. and like you said, sticking around and prolonging the departure only makes things worse. In my experience anyway.

Sorry to hear about the flat tire! What a crappy way to start off your workday....and it's Tuesday. Hope your Starbucks cheered you up some and I hope the day gets better....

I would have totally cried to. Remember when we were coming back from Myrtle Beach and I locked my keys in the car in the middle of nowhere with the car running? Hell, Hud-Hud wasn't even in the car and TP was with me and I still teared up. Ok, I cried. Ray will be home and that will left some of the stress and so lots of things won't seem so bad. Kick him in the shins when he gets home, just for good measure.

Don't you just love those days???Thats great they were there so quick though.My car died on the bridge on the freeway right in the middle during rush hour and I basically sat there for 1/2 an hour before getting someone to help me to the side of the road and then another 1/2 hour till OMAP (OR road assistance ) showed up! I sure hope Ray got on the flight to get home tonight! It really sounds like you need it.

I am so sorry about your morning, it seems as if everything came to a head all at once (hence the crying breakdown.) I'm the same way, too. I'm an independent gal, but my husband also plays a BIG part in everything, and when he's away... well, that's what happens - everything all at once. I hope your Starbucks was yummy and your work didn't get too upset about you being late. Have a great rest of the day!

You know how I went through the exact same thing a few weeks ago and our wonderful highway assist & a state trooper helped me as well. I'm sorry you were upset enough to cry...((((hugs)))) At least your kids weren't in the car like mine were!